BACK TO SCHOOL - INCOMING STUDENTS ADD PRESSURE TO CURRENT RENTAL CRISIS

As thousands of international students return to Victoria universities, pressure builds on rental crisis

Read below: New development in Footscray to open in November, and investors can buy now for zero deposit!

Since December thousands of international students have been returning to Melbourne to continue their higher education, with over 105,000 student visa holders now living in the state. Of the nearly 130,000 student visa holders for Victoria, another 20% haven't returned yet and are still abroad.

(Source: ABC News: Thousands of Victoria's international students have returned, but there are still more to come)

This number is still lower than pre-pandemic totals of 155,000. However, as part of The Economic Recovery Plan 2025, the state is investing $53 million dollars to market Melbourne as an education destination, in an effort to bring those numbers back to previous levels.

Currently top source countries are China, India, Nepal, Vietnam and Malaysia, and the Study Melbourne program has invested for social hubs where overseas students can meet, network, and socialise in Shanghai, Kuala Lumpur and Ho Chi Minh City, with pop up locations across India, Sri Lanka and Nepal.

Part of the state’s program includes expanding its Global Education Network program into 19 locations, and sending state education representatives to Colombia, Korea, Japan and Vietnam.

Melbourne is easily Australia’s biggest university city, with 8 universities within the city and close to 300,000 students during school terms. International students make up more than a third of this population.

But where will the incoming students live?

While these efforts are sought to attract the best global talent to Melbourne, the incoming students are finding themselves at the mercy of an historically extreme rental crisis.

(Source: SBS: Depressed and ripped-off: How Australia's deepening rental crisis is impacting international students)

• Melbourne’s rental vacancy fell again in August to 1.4%. If it falls any lower, which is likely, it will reach the lowest point since the measurements started in 2005.
• At the same time, rental prices are at record highs, with houses renting for $575 per week, and units for $449 per week.
• Melbourne had the highest annual growth in rental prices of all the capital cities, with prices increasing 12.9% over the last year.

RESIDENTIAL VACANCY RATES

CITY: MELBOURNE

WEEKLY RENTS

CITY: MELBOURNE

Renters in almost every part of the country have been feeling the sting of increasing prices since the start of the pandemic, with annual national rental growth hitting a record high 10%.

“We are seeing extremely high demand for rental units now, as the supply dwindles,” says APFG CEO Matt Sully. “But there is definitely the feeling that the crisis will only get worse before it gets better. Prices will go through the roof, especially as more students return from overseas next year.”

However, in Melbourne the situation is exceedingly dire, as the number of new listings for rentals plummeted 25.7% over the last year, experts are predicting that the city and state's population numbers will reach pre-pandemic levels by 2024, with the influx of international students and migrant workers.

“There is a desperate need for more stock, from both investors and tenants,” says Sully. “More stock will keep everyone happy. Investors will have more to buy, and the boost in supply will keep rental prices from becoming out of reach for students.”

New towers in Footscray will alleviate housing needs for Victoria University.

Investors can buy now for zero deposit!

One of Melbourne’s biggest and renowned campuses will benefit from the opening of Liberty One by Bensons Property Group.

Liberty One has a total of 375 units, only 1.3 km from Victoria University. The building is just a few months shy of its November completion date. Bensons expects that the project will be sold out by then, just in time to welcome the new students in January.

“We are thrilled with the opening of Liberty One being right around the corner,” said Sully. “There are more than 30,000 students returning to the campus next year, so there will be an abundance of tenants needing a rental unit.”

Property Investors who are interested in the last few remaining units will benefit with deposits as low as 5%, and existing home owners could qualify for zero deposit.

Talk to the team at APFG today to secure one of the last units of Liberty One in Footscray.